The first scream echoed through the west wing just after midnight.
Lyra woke with a sharp gasp, her heart racing—not from sound, but from the bond. It flared violently, like a struck chord.
Kael was already sitting up. "Someone's in pain," he said, voice tight. "Bonded."
Lyra swung her legs off the bed. "It's not just pain. It's fear. Deep fear."
The corridor outside erupted with hurried footsteps and shouting voices. Doors opened. Students spilled out, half-dressed, confused.
Selene appeared, breathless. "They've taken Mira."
Lyra froze. "Taken?"
"An unclaimed group cornered her near the old library," Selene said quickly. "Her mate tried to stop them—he's injured."
Kael's eyes darkened. "Nyx."
Lyra felt it then—something old stirring in her chest. Not anger. Not panic.
Recognition.
"Take me to them," Lyra said.
Kael grabbed her wrist. "Lyra, wait—"
"I know," she said softly, meeting his eyes. "I know what I am now."
They ran.
The old library was sealed off long ago, its magic unstable. Torches flared as students gathered at a distance, too afraid to intervene. At the center of the ruined courtyard, Mira was held between two trembling boys, her face streaked with tears, her bond flickering weakly like a dying flame.
Her mate lay on the ground, bloodied but conscious, trying desperately to rise.
"Please," Mira sobbed. "Let me go."
"You don't deserve him," one of the unclaimed snarled. "None of you do. Bonds are hoarded. Chosen. We're left with nothing."
Lyra stepped forward.
"Let her go," she said calmly.
They turned.
Recognition rippled through the group.
"It's her," someone whispered. "The Anchor."
Nyx stood at the edge of the courtyard, arms folded, watching intently.
"Fascinating," Nyx murmured.
Kael moved to Lyra's side, his presence solid. "This ends now."
One of the unclaimed laughed bitterly. "You don't get to decide that."
Lyra's heart pounded—not with fear, but with sorrow.
"You think love is something that can be stolen," she said gently. "It can't."
Mira cried out as the bond between her and her mate faltered, stretched too thin by terror.
That was when Lyra felt it.
The snap before the break.
"No," Lyra whispered.
Something inside her opened.
Not violently.
Willingly.
The ground beneath her feet pulsed with ancient light. Threads—silver, gold, and soft blue—rose from the stone like living veins, weaving through the air.
Gasps erupted.
"What is that?" someone cried.
Nyx's breath caught for the first time. "So this is how it manifests…"
Lyra stepped closer, her voice steady but trembling with emotion. "You're hurting her. And love doesn't survive pain like this."
One of the unclaimed staggered back. "Make it stop!"
"I can't," Lyra said honestly. "But I can hold it together."
She reached out—not touching Mira, not touching the bond—but standing between it.
The threads wrapped around Mira and her mate, not binding them, but supporting them. The flickering bond steadied, glowing brighter.
Mira gasped. "I can feel him again."
Her mate coughed weakly. "Mira… I'm here."
Tears streamed down Lyra's face.
Kael stared in awe. "Lyra… you're anchoring them."
"I don't control bonds," Lyra whispered. "I remind them why they exist."
The unclaimed fell to their knees, clutching their heads as the light pressed against them—not punishing, but revealing.
Memories spilled out. Rejection. Loneliness. Years of feeling unseen.
Lyra turned to them, voice breaking. "I know it hurts. But hurting others won't heal you."
One boy looked up at her, eyes red. "Then what will?"
She swallowed. "Truth. And time."
The light slowly receded. The courtyard fell silent except for quiet sobs.
Nyx stepped forward slowly. "You didn't overpower them," she said softly. "You absorbed the strain."
Lyra turned to face her. "That's what anchors do."
Nyx studied her with new intensity. "You could stabilize the entire academy."
"And you could stop manipulating pain," Lyra shot back.
Nyx's lips curved faintly. "Pain reveals potential."
Kael stepped in front of Lyra. "Step away from her."
Nyx raised her hands. "Relax. Tonight proved my point better than any ritual." Her gaze flicked to Lyra. "You don't break bonds when love is threatened. You become the place they rest."
She turned and disappeared into the shadows, shaken—but not defeated.
Later, in the infirmary, Lyra sat beside Mira's bed. Mira clutched her hand tightly.
"You saved us," Mira whispered.
Lyra shook her head. "You saved each other. I just… held the line."
Kael waited outside, giving them space.
When Lyra finally stepped into the corridor, she looked exhausted—physically and emotionally.
Kael pulled her into his arms without a word.
She buried her face in his chest. "I felt everything. Their fear. Their love. It nearly tore me apart."
He held her tighter. "And you stayed."
"I was so scared," she admitted. "What if one day I can't?"
Kael tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Then I'll hold you. The way you hold everyone else."
Her breath caught.
"You're not alone in this," he said firmly. "You never will be."
She nodded, tears spilling freely now. "Nyx was right about one thing."
"What?" he asked.
"When love is threatened… I change."
He smiled softly. "So do I."
The bond between them pulsed—deeper, stronger, no longer just a connection, but a promise.
And far beneath the academy, ancient magic settled into something it had not felt in centuries.
Peace.
For now.